The National Ski Areas Association names some of the top environmentally conscious resorts.

Killington Resort, Greek Peak, and Homewood Mountain Resort, as well as Utah's Alta, Brighton, Snowbird, and Solitude, were recognized for helping protect the environment by incorporating various programs and projects.

The National Ski Areas Association Golden Eagle Awards were presented to each resort based on the number of annual skier visits. The categories are as follows: Small resort, up to 200,000 visits; medium resort, 200,000 to 500,000 visits; large resort, more than 500,000 visits.

If you’re lucky enough have good local knowledge in Tahoe, he’ll know just the place for a couple days of backcountry fun for you and 15 of your closest ski buddies. That would be funky/rustic Lost Trail Lodge, a four-mile skin up the Cold Creek drainage just outside Truckee, Calif.

If your local knowledge—in this case, Tecnica Blizzard super rep Clem Smith—happens to have a killer carbonara recipe, handed down from the international product development director’s dear Italian nona, that’d be even better. (The secret: lots of nutmeg.)